Enjoy music, food New Year’s Eve
Austin’s free bash at Vic Mathias Shores to include fireworks.
The city of Austin is throwing its annual New Year’s Eve bash on the shores of Lady Bird Lake with kidfriendly activities, live music and food truck cuisine — all free of charge.
Festivities will begin Sunday at 3 p.m. at Vic Mathias Shores (sorry, folks, it’s almost 2018 — you have to stop calling it Auditorium Shores) near the corner of South First Street and Riverside Drive, and conclude with a fireworks finale at 10 p.m.
The alcohol-free event will feature live music from about 20 bands — including headliners Brownout and the Ian Moore Band — on four stages.
Food vendors at the party will include barbecue joints like Micklethwait Craft Meats and Chi’lantro BBQ; handheld seafood from Garbo’s and La Sirena-La Fantabulous Taqueria; desserts by Elixer Coffee, Suga’s Cakery and Krack of Dawn Donuts and Kafe; and ethnic staples from Roppolo’s, Sharwarma Point, Evil Weiner and Kababeque.
But the city has a few rules to keep in mind: ■ No drones ■ No drugs or alcohol ■ No coolers (except for medical needs) ■ No glass containers ■ No Styrofoam containers ■ No smoking ■ No professional video cameras
■ No pop-up tents or anything that blocks others from seeing a show
■ No skateboards, scooters or personal motorized vehicles
■ No amplified music or noisemakers other than traditional party favors
■ No unauthorized or unlicensed vendors ■ No fireworks or explosives ■ No weapons Pets will be allowed on a leash only, but the city recommends taking your pet home before the fireworks. If your pet is aggressive toward people or other animals, you will be asked to leave.
The city also says you can bring: ■ Blankets ■ Hand-held umbrellas (small hand-held style) ■ Baby strollers ■ Small wagons ■ Binoculars ■ Camping chairs, but don’t place them in front of the main stage ■ Walkie-talkies ■ Personal cameras, including digital and traditional film cameras
■ Bicycles, but walk them in crowded areas
Your best option for parking will be to avoid parking if you can and catch a ride. Ride-hailing companies and cabs will have a designated drop-off and pick-up point at One Texas Center, 505 Barton Springs Road. Capital Metro will offer free bus service after 6 p.m. Sunday.
If you decide to drive there anyway, you can use public parking garages at Palmer Auditorium, One Texas Center and Austin City Hall. The event will not have free parking and no event parking is available in the neighborhood. You should also expect traffic delays when approaching downtown that night.
According to the National Weather Service, New Year’s Eve could have a 20 percent chance of rain and temperatures in the 40s, so bundle up and prepare for a light drizzle.
A woman has died after an exchange of gunfire with a suburban Dallas police officer after a late-night traffic stop.
Police in Farmers Branch say the officer had initiated the traffic stop late Tuesday and was speaking with the driver when the officer asked the woman, a passenger in the car, to exit the vehicle.
The woman, identified as 38-year-old Brooke Amelia Camacho, then pulled a gun and shot the unidentified officer.
The officer was able to return fire and shot Camacho. Both were taken to a hospital where Camacho died. The officer was later released, and authorities say his bulletproof vest saved his life.
It’s not clear what prompted Camacho to fire.
The male driver was questioned and released. No charges have been filed against him.
Authorities say a Central Texas jailer has been charged with stealing funds.
Milam County Sheriff David Greene on Tuesday told the Temple Daily Telegram that Milam County Jail Capt. Katrina Douglas had been arrested by the Texas Rangers and charged with theft of more than $30,000 but less than $150,000, a third-degree felony.
Greene said the Texas Rangers investigated Douglas for several months after a large amount of money was discovered missing. She was arrested Dec. 21 in Temple.
Douglas was released from Bell County Jail after posting bail, Greene said. A phone number couldn’t be found to reach her for comment.
The newspaper reports Douglas is the third Milam County employee within the last two years to be connected with missing funds.
Two people were injured when an SUV crashed into a home Wednesday morning, The Dallas Morning News reported.
The vehicle plowed into a home in South Dallas just before noon, according to KXAS-TV.
A woman and a 1-year-old child were injured, while two other children in the home were uninjured, the Morning News said.
Police said the driver, whose name wasn’t released, ran from the scene and was arrested a short time later.
Three people are dead and two others injured after a vehicle collided with a wild hog in Southwest Texas.
The accident happened late Monday on a rural road near Uvalde, about 110 miles southwest of San Antonio.
Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman Sgt. Conrad Hein said Tuesday that a preliminary investigation indicates a Ford Expedition collided with the hog, causing the vehicle to swerve into oncoming traffic and hit a Mercedes SUV head-on.
The Expedition’s driver, 51-year-old Ruby Garza, and the driver of the Mercedes, 27-year-old Antonio Cordova, were pronounced dead at the scene.
One of the passengers in the Ford, 51-year-old Julia Vasquez, later died at an area hospital.
Hein had no immediate information on the names and conditions of the Expedition’s two other passengers.